Kael, however, had already reached the edge of the first station. He hid right behind one of the pillars and kept watch on his mini-map.
The station was a skeleton of its old self, broken tiles, scattered signage, half-collapsed walls, but the emergency lights still hummed faintly, casting weak pools of illumination.
Kael pressed his back to a concrete pillar thick enough to hide his outline, breathing through the dullness of Presence while his eyes flicked between tunnel and minimap.
He noticed that the second Snake had already entered the tracks and began slowly approaching.
That dot moved differently: more cautious, more deliberate. The ranger wasn't charging headlong like his friend.
He was assessing, stalking, thinking. Kael felt a flicker of irritation because the plan worked best when everyone behaved stupidly. Still, one stupid, one smart meant he had to be sharper.
